Wynn shivered and turned her attention back to Arabella who was packing away the cards. “I feel much better about you now,” Arabella smiled weakly, and Wynn felt her sincerity, but also a vein of worry. The cards Arabella had picked almost never appeared in a reading and they had all appeared simultaneously for Wynn. Arabella rubbed her face wearily.
“Open your mind; we have wasted much time with my trivial reading. Concerning magic I am no professor, and can only speak through experience and piece information together from those wiser than I. In my opinion to understand magic you need to understand its history. Where magic first came from will always be a mystery. I cannot imagine the first Mage or Magus’s shock to discover they could feel exactly what everyone else was feeling, or that they could move things with their mind! Magic was once pure, used to aid those who needed it most. It started off, in its true form, as the ability to heal.
“It is the skill I personally regard the most important and precious. You can bring someone back from the brink; literally drag them from death if you are skilled enough. There is not a feeling in the world which can compare when you heal someone you care about. For aeons healing was all any Mage or Magus could do, and it was all anyone cared about. Before magic became taboo and illegal it was truly respected. Village wise woman often claimed to be a Magus, to inspire trust and earn a reputation. They were mostly hoaxes, it has always been part of an unspoken law that those with the gift must be able to blend in. If everyone knew you had magic you would never have peace and it would attract the wrong kind of attention. Even now, if magic was legal, would you feel the need to flaunt it?”
Wynn shook her head, she could not think of a situation that would ever call for her magic to be common knowledge, the thought made her stomach churn unexpectedly.
Arabella continued, “For so long healing was all anyone ever wished of their gift but over time it evolved, just as everything in life evolves and becomes stronger. Soon magic was limitless – in the sense that you had to be strong enough to control it and hold that amount of power – and that was when those of darker heritage were awoken. Magic is a neutral gift. It does not choose its host, just as those it was granted to could not choose it. There never used to be a divide of good and evil. There have always been people who chose to do bad things, but once magic was added to the picture the need for power corrupted many. A corrupt soul will corrupt the magic.
“Magic passes down through the generations. It is most commonly inherited from the mother, although just as many men possess it and pass it on to their offspring. It can lay dormant for a whole life time, or it can skip a generation, only those strong in spirit can awaken it. Magic is something you are born with, it lies dormant in your blood until your eighteenth birth-day, this is when you reach adulthood and are strong enough to control it.”
“I am not yet of age,” Wynn reminded Arabella.
“Ah yes. What happened to you is very uncommon. It is said that if one with the gift is threatened before their eighteenth summer then magic will come to their aid. Of course you are not mature enough to deal with it; your powers will be erratic, unpredictable, and dangerous.”
Wynn gulped.
“Listen to your body. Magic pulses through you; every fibre of your being is intertwined with it. It is not just blood that flows through your veins. It is not just air that swirls in your lungs. You and it are indefinitely one. Magic is a force inside you and your ability to be a strong and respected Magus comes with control. Imagine a thunderstorm; what you must do is contain all that fury, all that raw power inside you.”
Wynn’s eyebrows furrowed, it was not the best example. She could hardly believe inside her the fury of a thunderstorm raged. She felt just as she always had, small, weak and vulnerable.
“To begin with control is just the same as resisting an urge. Your natural instinct will be to reach for your magic. Exactly how you defeated the soldiers in Woodstone’s square, and moved us to the plains. You cannot explain why you did that can you? That is because magic is so ingrained into your blood that even if you consciously do know how to use it, your subconscious does. This fact means that you must try very hard to resist. You need to release your magic slowly, over a period of time, until you can release it without thinking, safely. It will get easier; control is fairly simple and is just the first stage in a lifetime of learning. Once you can control your magic you need to learn how to use it.”
Wynn was feeling more and more out of her depth, something bothered her however, if a corrupted soul meant the magic too corrupted, what did Arabella’s past mean for her gift? “You have killed many...” Wynn said slowly, letting the statement hang in the air.
Arabella sighed sadly and it seemed that her eyes spoke of thousands of difficult choices and regrets, “I chose to be this way, I am a killer, a murderer, I take lives that would without doubt take mine if they had the chance. I am strong through necessity; you will not see me cry because the world has no time for tears. My magic may have corrupted, but I stand by what I have become because I believe I am justified.”
The room became silent, Wynn mulled over what she had just heard, her heart ached for Arabella, but she would never let Arabella know she pitied her. She was too proud to be pitied and would scorn such a thing. It was strange for Wynn to see Arabella with doubts and fears and most of all regrets. She had been nothing but a force of power and mystery, strong both physically and magically and constantly intimidating. Wynn knew without a doubt that if Arabella had wanted to, she could have killed her in numerous ways almost instantly, she was glad they both followed Griffin's orders.
Arabella smirked as she heard Wynn's thoughts and Wynn had to shake herself. She had forgotten how much could be heard from another, with only Arabella in the room she could get only a hint of her thoughts and emotions, but to Arabella Wynn might as well have spoken aloud all that she had thought. She blushed deeply and quickly changed the subject.
“What are the limitations of magic?” Wynn asked.
“Magic is a sense is limitless, though that creates the wrong impression,” Arabella frowned, wondering how to explain, “there are no constraints on what can be achieved with magic; it is not broken into skills such as healing or reading another’s mind, if you are born with the gift your ability to do both these things, and others atop of that are a given and expected. The only limitation of magic is the raw power and strength of your body. Every gifted, once their magic in inherited is born with three things, the ability to feel emotions and thoughts of those around them, and an instinctual knowledge of the area around them, if you concentrate you will be able to see every house, street and alley around you as though physically walking through it. Finally the ability to create a shield to protect yourself and your mind.”
Wynn nodded, understanding as much as possible without having actually experienced what Arabella said. Her words did not explain Aerona’s reputation, why she was so feared.
“Who is Aerona?”
Arabella sucked in her breath mirthlessly, her eyes suddenly hard, “Where to begin with words that cannot fully describe all that she is and all she will be? She is evil. She controls all that is unholy. She can bend a will until it breaks. She controls the night, and all creatures that live in it. It is unwise to goad such a powerful Sorceress, but in these times danger lurks in the lightest of paths. Aerona is over a century old and powerful beyond belief. In her time she has amassed an army and following larger than thought possible, they spy upon those in power and train so that when the time comes, none will stand in their way, she rid the land of Gypsies, at least to conscious knowledge, illegalised magic and all those who practise it, allowed Lord Oprend and his army to take over and control us and will stop at nothing to see herself Queen of us all.”
If Wynn had not been sitting down she was sure her legs would have given way. Arabella would not exaggerate the horrors Aerona had committed, or lie to soften the blow, what she said of Aerona was completely true and Wynn felt weak at the t
hought. It all felt, suddenly, like a joke at her expense, because there was no way she could even comprehend training to fight Aerona. She was nothing but a maid, but she stopped herself, she was not even that, she had freed herself of that title, now she could claim nothing. Nothing other than a murderer. The word tasted strange and bitter on her tongue, but the presence of Arabella meant she could not dwell on the morality of her past.
Arabella closed her eyes and became completely still, suddenly she cast herself into Wynn’s mind. Or at least that was what Wynn thought had happened, everything physical had remained the same, Arabella had not moved an inch or uttered a word, but somehow Wynn felt her presence inside her head. It was an odd thing, but not terrifying now she had spent weeks experiencing and living with other's emotions and thoughts inside her. Arabella's presence was almost ghost-like, a shadow of herself on the edge of Wynn's conscious. Wynn was unsure what to do but Arabella's voice was speaking across her mind.
“Concentrate,” she said, “go deep into the centre of yourself. There you will find a pool of magic. That is your store of power. Using magic is done one of two ways, either commanding it with your mind and channelling it through your hands, or just using your mind, the magic obeying you instantly. The former is most practised as it allows you to control exactly how much magic you use but of course has its limitations.”
Wynn saw Arabella remember the night in Woodstone, only a few days before where she had been unable to save them from the army because her hands were bound behind her. Arabella still seethed at her failure.
“It is a hard thing,” Arabella continued, cutting the memory short sharply and focusing back on Wynn's mind, “to control magic using just your mind or voice, it takes a lot of concentration and strength to guide that force from your body with no way of channelling it other than your conscious. That is why most of the gift use their hands.”
Arabella opened her eyes and instructed Wynn to do the same. It was disconcerting to see Arabella in front of her and yet feel her inside her head; Wynn took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was to come.
“Mental communication is an important and much used way of communicating,” Arabella said aloud, “and I encourage you to use this when speaking to me for it strengthens the mind and develops the ability to pay attention to a situation and still converse mentally. There are limitations to speaking mentally of course, it is hard to converse with more than one, doable, but tiring for you must link your conscious with more than just one to be heard; emotions are detectable through mental communication but if you are far away from the person you are speaking to the ability to sense their emotions will cease, therefore you will have no idea if they are lying or not by inspecting their emotions or thoughts. It also has its limitations with distance; many cannot speak further than a few miles, and many much less than that. It takes a will of strength and determination to speak to one any further than that.”
Wynn nodded.
“I am unsure how to begin with you,” Arabella mused, her beautiful face pensive, “I am loathed to encourage the use of your magic, I have no idea how it will manifest and if you have enough control to shape it into anything safe,” Arabella raised her hand to Wynn's open mouth, “I know you managed to use it to move us here, but that was an effect of extreme desperation and fear, you have only ever used your magic under duress and I do not know if you would be able at the moment to practise without endangering us all.”
Wynn lowered her eyes, her protest dying in her mouth, Arabella was right of course, every moment she had used her magic was borne from extreme emotion and called upon instinctively, she did not know if she could control it consciously.
“I understand,” she whispered.
Arabella smiled softly and Wynn could not help a tug of jealously that the action caused Arabella's face to become even more beautiful, “I am not judging you Wynn, you are not of age and by all accounts should not even be worrying about magic. We will try a simple exercise of control.”
Arabella ordered Wynn to take a deep breath and feel the magic inside her. The request confused Wynn, how could she feel it more? It was already a part of her, ingrained into every inch of her being, she thought about asking Arabella but she had her eyes closed and was concentrating very hard on nothing in particular. She would not help Wynn with this. Wynn too closed her eyes and emptied her mind, suddenly a flash of gold danced across her eyes and she snapped them open. Nothing had changed. Slowly she closed her eyes again and emptied her mind, again it happened but Wynn was ready, she embraced the darkness and suddenly her body was alive with gold fire, it burnt most fiercely and brightly in the middle, the centre of her magic.
“Good,” she heard Arabella say, as though from a distance, she was mesmerised by the gold flames, they swivelled and twirled like smoke, and ran up and down ever part of her being, “see how much a part of you it is? Now I want you to encourage the magic to group in the centre.”
Wynn almost lost the hold of her magic at Arabella's request, but held it tight for truly it was the most beautiful and wild thing she had ever seen. She wondered how to make her magic move, and puzzled over it for a long time, before thinking with sudden clarity, it is my magic, I command it. She ordered it to obey her and slowly the fiery smoke danced its way through her body until it reached the golden glow in the centre of her being. It burnt brighter than the sun and Wynn had to resist the urge to touch it and draw from it, it was more tempting this way.
“Now open your eyes,” Arabella commanded, her voice was sharp as she sensed Wynn's intentions. Wynn opened her eyes and viewed Arabella's stern face. “What you have done is localised your magic, so that it is not so easily accessed. It is the state most favoured by beginners. To reach your magic you must tap into the pool and hopefully that split second longer will be enough to allow you to think your actions through. But come, we have spoken of many things and the day passes, there is something else that we can practise safely. Control will take time; if you practise every day releasing your magic in a safe way you will soon be able to use your magic as easily as breathing. I did not know the extent of your power and control and I am happy that as long as you practise every day control will come easily to you. You need to learn to fight, magic cannot be your only weapon, and this is where I am most apt.”
Arabella jumped up and towered suddenly over Wynn, her red skirts swaying from the motion. Wynn got up more slowly, less elegantly, unsure what was coming. She knew Arabella was fierce and skilled and wished she had some practise with defence. She could distract a drunk man, and twist from his grip, deter his petting but when it came to anything physical she was as defenceless as a child. Arabella's face was painted with a smirk and Wynn could not help the shiver that passed through her.
“Strike me,” Arabella commanded.
Wynn stared at her, bewildered, controlling the urge to laugh, it was almost as infeasible as going up against Aerona, only of course it was nothing like that, but to Wynn the odds of her winning were just the same. She shook her head and closed her eyes, refusing to strike Arabella, not even wanting to try. Arabella darted forward, her footsteps silent and punched Wynn around the face. Wynn choked, somewhere between a gasp and a sob and clutched her cheek, her eyes snapping open to look accusingly at Arabella.
“That was nothing,” Arabella snapped, walking back to face her, “I hardly touched you. Think on this, you do not get a second chance in combat, you take every opportunity that is presented, the enemy will not be kind because you are a female, this will only entice them more to use you then discard you when you are broken. They will overpower you the moment you show weakness, the battle may look impossible but you cannot give up before you have even begun.”
Wynn nodded at Arabella's words but they did not sink in. She stood there awkwardly and noticed a second too late as Arabella rolled her eyes and lunged for her again, throwing her leg up and catching her on the side of her skull. Wynn withered to the ground in pain, her world blurring. She was awar
e of Arabella hovering over her but could not find the will to care. Her head pounded and she was adamant she would not rise from the floor. She did not want any more pain but Arabella was pulling her up and standing her on her feet.
“Hold yourself up child.”
Wynn bristled at the term, meant as an insult, she was not a child and it was not her fault she was malnourished, weak and inexperienced in defence. She caught herself suddenly, making excuses and knew Arabella was listening. Her face was stern and her body tight - with what? Irritation or disappointment, it was clear Arabella frowned upon Wynn's attempts to justify her failings. Wynn closed her eyes and took a breath. She would not win but she would try.
Wynn wondered how to start, Arabella's reactions were faster than lightning and she had no hope of catching her unawares either with her thoughts or reactions. Her only hope was something Arabella was not expecting. A memory flashed before her eyes, of a soldier back in Woodstone attacking her. It was a cheap trick; one that Arabella would have thought Wynn incapable of knowing or doing. Wynn decided in that split second and charged at Arabella, ducking luckily under her swinging arm and heading behind her. Wynn grabbed her shoulder whilst simultaneously wrapping her other arm around Arabella's neck forcing her head backwards as the pressure increased. Arabella was confused at first but instantly began to scream as Wynn's pinched fingers on her shoulder caused her body to shudder with pain and Wynn's other arm made it hard to breathe. Arabella slowly began to fall to the ground, completely at Wynn's mercy.
Wynn let go when Arabella began to pass out and stepped back from her, shocked it had worked. The memory of the attack flashed again in her head. The man had been a soldier, newly transferred to Woodstone. He had not known the rule that Wynn was the Master's. He cornered her on the night the Master held his celebrations, waiting until everyone was either too drunk to notice or passed out on the floor. He ambled over to Wynn, intoxicated and stupid. Wynn knew the warning signs and headed for the door, but the man was quicker. He grabbed her arm and tugged her back, spinning her so her back was to him. From there he pinched the muscle between her shoulder and neck and Wynn was suddenly in agony. With his other hand he wrapped it around her neck, ensuring his thumb found the hollow groove in her throat, near her collar bone. Wynn's body shuddered in pain and her breathing became shallow.
Shade of Destiny (The Foreseeing) Page 18